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Dozens of migrants are helping to clean up debris and rebuild homes destroyed by a tornado in the Venice area last week, telling the Italian media they wanted to help those who "had lost everything".

The tornado, captured on video, swept through he Riviera del Brenta last Wednesday, killing one and injuring more than 30, while rooftops were blown off dozens of homes and other buildings.

Hundreds of people are helping to help clear up the debris including many refugees, Nuova Venezia reported.

“They escaped from the destruction of war, and now roll up their sleeves for the destruction of the tornado,” the news website said.

The migrants, who are temporarily housed in the town of Mirano and nearby Padua, turned up to help clean up the streets and rebuild homes.

“I didn't think about it for a second when they asked me,” one of the migrants, Kamil, told Corriere del Veneto.

“It's a real disaster around here. Without the help of volunteers, they wouldn't be able to do it. Some people have lost everything, we had to give them a hand – they did it for us when we arrived, I do not see why we shouldn't do it for them.”

Another volunteer told Nuovo Venezia: "As soon as they heard about what happened they offered to lend a hand to people whose homes suffered damage. They felt it was their duty”.

The migrants sprung to help despite the Veneto region vowing in June to refuse to accommodate any more migrants.

The region's right-wing president, Luca Zaia, said at the time that Veneto was “like a bomb ready to go off. The social tensions are absolutely crazy.”

Leaders of other wealthy northern regions, including Lombardy and Liguria, adopted the same stance.